penndisorientationguide

Sexual Violence Resources in the Philly Community

There are several community-led organizations to support survivors of sexual violence in Philadelphia. No resource is perfect, but this list includes options for mental, emotional, and legal support.

12 Things to do Instead of Calling the Cops

As newcomers, it is important to learn about the space where we live, and how Penn displaces predominantly Black, working-class communities that live here through economic and physical violence. Part of this is understanding that Penn or Philadelphia police play a part in enforcing gentrification and that calling the police often puts Black communities in harm’s way.

Defanging Radicals

Penn continuously undermines its own students and community members to preserve its institutional power. Here are some of their strategies, so you can label and successfully oppose them.

How to Organize Protests at Penn

Student and community-led protests have been an integral part of Penn’s history, and they will continue to be for decades. However, when planning a protest, it’s important to be mindful of the physical and emotional wellbeing of all participants, as well as set a concrete set of realistic goals.

Tying it All Together

Antiwar demonstrators following the Penn marching band during Hey Day in 1972. Students rallied to protest the U.S.'s involvement in the Vietnam War and Penn's role in funding the war effort. In a black and white photo, students with signs and a megaphone confront band members playing their instruments. Photo courtesy of Penn Archives.

Hopefully, now at the end of this guide, you have a clearer understanding of Penn as an institution. You’ve seen how Penn’s foundation was dependent upon displacing indigenous peoples and using enslaved labor, how it exploits its workers today, how it fails to meet the needs of its students, how it intensifies racial inequalities, and how it deprives us all of an environmentally sound future.

Editors’ Letter

Penn students protest the construction of Meyerson Hall on campus. These protests were one of the many free speech cases that the University has dealt with in its history. Other instances include the “water buffalo” incident, race-based protests and, more recently, Occupy protests. Photo courtesy of The Daily Pennsylvanian.

Welcome to the Disorientation Guide (DG), where you get to read about all the things Penn doesn’t want to tell you.

Penn’s Pipeline to White Collar Crime

Huntsman Hall, the home of the Wharton School of Business.

While highlighting the accomplishments of its most notable entrepreneurs at every chance, the University seemingly overlooks the white collar crimes of graduates using a Penn education for selfish gain.

Who’s Who of the Penn Trustees

Former members of the Penn Board of Trustees pose for a photo. All of them are white, and all but one are men.

The Board of Trustees is Penn’s government. They choose the President, manage the endowment, and oversee all aspects of Penn. The Board does this with no outside checks, voting process, accountability, or even transparency on how they come to their decisions.

Exploitation “for Science”: Unethical Research at Penn

Albert Kligman, a white man with dark hair, experiments on a rabbit. Kligman infamously experimented on incarcertated individuals at Holmesburg Prison in Philadelphia.

From Big Pharma corrupting the medical school to carbon capture research funded by the fossil fuel industry, nefarious interests are rampant throughout research here at Penn, and it is important that incoming first-years are aware of these influences before they delve deeply into research.

Penn and the Climate Crisis: A System of Destruction for Profit

Members of Fossil Free Penn set up tents on College Green in front of College Hall to protest Penn's hefty contributions to the climate crisis.

Penn is a business first, and an educational institution distantly second. That means, however, that as a researcher, an investor, a pipeline of money and talent, and a power player in Philadelphia politics, Penn’s environmental impact is massive, and is more than just the carbon it burns.